Online Bachelor Degree Programs

A bachelor's degree is typically thought of as a four-year degree, although the New York Times reports that recent research indicates that 45 percent of full-time bachelor's degree students took five or six years to graduate. Among the reasons cited for the increased time to degree are more students working while attending school and overcrowding on campuses that can make it hard for students to get the courses they need to graduate.

Online bachelor's degrees may be able to help students stay on track to finish in four years. With flexible scheduling and no space constraints, online bachelor's degrees allow students to sign up for classes without delay and work at their own pace.

Online education is growing, the Sloan Consortium reports, with about 5.6 million students taking at least one course online in the fall of 2009. Increasingly, colleges and universities are offering hybrid programs or encouraging students to take a few courses online to improve digital literacy and maximize limited budgets and resources.

Bachelor's degrees are available in virtually every subject area. In some cases, a bachelor's degree in a general subject area, such as liberal arts, can lead to a wide variety of potential jobs. More specialized bachelor's degrees are also available that prepare students for specific careers--such as a bachelor's degree in accounting or a bachelor's degree in elementary education.

Bachelor's degrees generally offer a more rounded education than associate degrees, which can be more career focused, leading to jobs such as medical assistant, paralegal or dental hygienist. The targeted nature of associate degrees can make it more difficult to branch out into other fields over the course of one's career.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, those who earned their bachelor's degree made a median weekly wage of $1,038 in 2010, which compares favorably with the $767 earned per week by those with an associate degree. Unemployment rates also dropped, from 7.0 percent for those with an associate degree to 5.4 percent for those with a bachelor's degree. Individuals with a master's degree had a median wage of $1,272 per week and unemployment of only 4.0 percent in 2010.

Many individuals find that a bachelor's degree is all they need to get their foot in the door within their chosen profession, but may return to school to earn a master's degree for career advancement. However, not all jobs require a master's degree in order to advance so the additional time and money required for a master's degree should be weighed against the benefits of having the degree.

The potential jobs for those who have a bachelor's degree are virtually endless. However, there are some jobs that are more in demand than others. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, biomedical engineers are expected to see job growth of 72 percent from 2008 to 2018. Network systems and data communications analysts should see growth of 53 percent, financial examiners jobs are projected to grow by 41 percent, and athletic trainers could see a 37 percent job growth between 2008 and 2018.

Salaries for bachelor's degree holders also vary widely from one field to another. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, among 2009-2010 graduates, top starting salary offers were as follows:

• Software design and development: $70,569
• Project engineering: $59,477
• Consulting: $57,492
• Field engineering: $56,946

Design and construction engineering, investment banking, financial analysis, public and private accounting, and registered nursing round out the ten jobs with the highest salary offers for graduates with bachelor's degrees.

Based on data from graduates between 1999 and 2010, the Wall Street Journal similarly reports that starting salaries were highest for those in engineering, computer science and accounting majors ($56,000, $50,000 and $43,000 respectively) while psychology, communications and English majors had the lowest starting salaries at $35,000, $34,000 and $34,000.

While starting salaries for some bachelor's degree holders can be low, the Georgetown University report indicates that a college education is something that pays off over time. Citing data from 1970 to 2007, the report authors write "Given the transformation of workers by economic class, postsecondary education and training is no longer just the preferred pathway to middle and upper income classes--it is, increasingly, the only pathway."